Lost
by RangeBabe1227
Summary: A tragedy in Rangers life makes it Stephs turn to save him. M for Language and maybe some smut.
1. Chapter 1

_**Lost**_

_**Chapter 1**_

_**I own nothing!**_

I woke up to my phone ringing. I looked at the clock and it was 2am. "This better be good." I answered.

"Bombshell." What the fuck why is Tank calling me? "Lester is about to pull into your parking lot you need to meet him outside. He is going to bring you back to RangeMan. Ranger needs you, Lester will fill you in." Then he disconnected.

After my shock wore off I rushed to put on sweatpants and a sweat shirt and ran down to the parking lot. Of course the black SUV was parked in front of the door waiting for me to get in. "Lester what the hell is going on? It is 2 o'clock in the morning and Tank is telling me to rush to my parking lot because Ranger needs me. I'm trying not to panic but I don't know how much longer that is going to last." Lester took my hand and squeezed it.

"Ranger is physically okay but mentally not so much. His grandmother died at about five hours ago and we haven't been able to get him out of the gym since then. He is going nuts on everyone who walks in. At this point no one knows what to do." He told me as he sped to Haywood. "You are the only one who he ever seems to let in so we were hoping that maybe he would talk to you." Shit, Son of a bitch, this is some sort of sick joke right? His Grandmother practically raised him. If I were him I would be going nuts too. For the rest of the ride I sat in silence thinking about what I would say to Ranger when I saw him. When we pulled into the garage I took a deep breath.

"Keep everyone away from the gym elevators and the 7th floor. I know he won't hurt me so no matter what you guys see on the monitors' just stay away." I said to Lester as I was getting out of the explorer.

"Beautiful he isn't himself I don't know if he will even realize it is you down there." I knew that was a possibility but deep down I knew I would be fine.

"He won't hurt me. You have to trust me. Just stay away until I say it is okay." I was beginning to get a little frantic in my head. I need to calm down so that I can help Ranger. He has done everything in his power to help me and now it is my turn to return the favor.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Lost**_

_**Chapter 2**_

_**I still own nothing**__**. Thank you so much for all the reviews!**_

I ran to the elevator but it was taking too long so I took the stairs up the third floor and ran into the gym. As I ran through the door I heard Ranger's fists hitting one of the punching bags in the back of the gym. I walked to the sound not knowing what to expect. When I got to the back I stood there and watched him for a while normally he would notice when I walked into a room but right now he didn't seem to know I was there. When I realized he wasn't wearing boxing gloves and that his hands were covered in his own blood I stepped in. "Stop Ranger", No response. So I tried louder this time, "Ranger, stop", still no response. So this time I changed my tactic a little bit. "Damn it Carlos stop it! You are hurting yourself." Thank got that worked. If it didn't I don't know what I would have done.

"Stephanie you need to leave." Wow I have never seen him act this cold before. Oh no this crap was not going to fly with me.

"No I am not leaving." He looked at me like he was lost. "You do not need to go through this by yourself." He took three steps in my direction looking like he was ready to kill someone.

"I need you to leave I don't want to hurt you." Yeah because playing the 'it's for your own safety' card works with me. "Babe please I need to be alone." No please is not going to work this time.

"I already told you I am not leaving. Yes normally please will get me to do anything but not today. You have been alone for five hours and all you have managed to do it cut your hands up and scare the shit out of all your men. Let me be the one that helps you this time. You won't hurt me." I refuse to leave him alone no matter what happens down here right now.

"Babe I threw a 50 pound dumbbell at Tank." Holy crap 50 pounds!

"I know you won't hurt me Ranger just stop it!" I closed the space between us and put my hands on his cheeks. "I know better than to think you would ever do anything to hurt me." He took my hands off his face and kissed my palms. He let go of my hands and pulled me to his chest. "I am so, so sorry about your grandmother." I could feel him smelling my hair.

"Me too Babe, I don't know what I am going to do." I could hear the shakiness in his voice. I pulled back from him. "Please don't leave Babe."

"I'm not going anywhere, but we need to clean up your hands. Bobby will kill me if these cuts get infected and I did nothing to prevent it." He followed me to the sink and let me clean his hands. At one point I saw him cringe and I laughed at him. "You can get stabbed or shot and say it just needs a Band-Aid but you cringe like I am putting salt in your cut when I am rinsing it with water. You are a closet baby!"

"Babe I have had a bad day I assure you I am not in any way a baby." Oops maybe today wasn't the day to joke like that with Ranger.

"I'm sorry I was trying to make you laugh. After I finish cleaning you up we can go upstairs and hide. I left orders with the guys that they are to stay away until I say it is okay ". He sighed. "It will get better I promise. He sighed again. I finished bandaging his hand and we went upstairs.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Lost**_

_**Chapter 3**_

_**Nothing still. Thank you for the reviews everyone! I would love to make longer chapters but I cut them off where it makes sense. **_

"Come on Ranger lets go lay down in bed." I said pulling him to his room.

"Babe, I know you are being a good friend but Morelli will not like you in my bed." He pulled me to a stop.

"That's not a problem anymore. Morelli is gone." He raised an eyebrow at me. "He got a job offer in D.C. and took Terry with him like three weeks ago." I couldn't help thinking 'thank God he is gone'. Joe and I broke up about 6 weeks after Ranger went into the wind. Joe and Terry got together about 3 months after that and then got married 9 months later. Ranger pulled me to him and kissed the top of my head.

"I'm sorry Babe. I didn't know I just got back 15 hours ago." Why is he apologizing to me? How was he supposed to know? He was in the wind for 18 months. I honestly didn't even know he was back yet. If I was really being honest I didn't know if he would ever come back. Then it hit me I need this man to be okay.

"Don't be sorry Joe and I broke up 6 weeks after you went in the wind and he and Terry got married a little over a year after he and I broke up. I'm just glad you came back. I was starting to worry you wouldn't. I missed you." I inhaled his scent. I missed him so much it hurt. Having him back was everything. I leaned up and kissed his cheek and put my head back on his chest.

"I missed you too Babe. Let's go to bed. I will tell you what I can and then we can go to sleep. I need to be at my parents at 2 o'clock tomorrow so we can go over plans." He sounded like a lost little boy when he said those words.

I led him down the hallway to the bedroom. When we got to the bedroom he walked into his closet and got a pair of sweatpants and walked to the bathroom. Since when does Ranger wear sweat pants to bed? I tucked myself in and waited for him to come to bed. I must have fallen to sleep before he came out because the next thing I remember was feeling Ranger climb into bed and pull me next to him so that my back was to his front and his arm was around me. "I'm glad your home Ranger."

"This time it's forever Babe." What the hell did that mean?

"What is forever Ranger?" I asked him as I turned around to face him. He moved a curl out of my face.

"Being home, this was my last mission. My contract is up and I'm not renegotiating another contract." No more in the wind? Oh thank God!

"Any particular reason you decided to stop now?"

"It was just time to hang it up before it hung me up. It will be nice to be just a business man now."

"You will never be just a business man. Let's face it you will always be batman." He smiled at me.

"I suppose you are right. I will be nice to know I get to sleep in my own bed every night though and not have to wonder if my phone is going to ring and tell me I have to go save the world. You are here too which is a perk. I don't like leaving you wonder woman." This must be the grief talking he's being so mushy.

"I don't like when you leave either. I always worry about you when I don't know where you are." I was being mushy too; it was like something changed now that he was done with his contract. I needed to change subjects because denial was not going to help him. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can Babe."

"What was she like?" I hope this doesn't upset him too much.

"Amazing and strong you remind me of her a lot." Amazing and strong? That didn't sound like me at all. "She was really tough when I was a kid and she didn't let me get away with anything. That's why my parents sent me to live with her when I got in trouble. It was probably the best thing for me too. She taught me so much. She was persistent and never too no as an answer." Okay that part kind of sounded like me. He continued to tell me stories about growing up in Miami with his grandmother. I could tell this is where he learned all his values in life. He completely threw me for a loop when he said. "She would have loved to meet you. I would go home for a family thing and tell stories about you and she would always ask me why you weren't there with me."

"You told you family stories about me?" Great this could only go badly from here.

"Of course I did. You are one of my best friends and you are also a huge part of my life." He looked into my eyes like he was searching for something he must have found it because he smiled and put his hand on my cheek then he lightly kissed me. Let's go to sleep Babe we can talk more in the morning. I nodded my head and smiled at him. "Goodnight Babe."

"Goodnight Ranger. I'm glad you are safe at home." I kissed him lightly and rolled over to my other side.

As I was just about to drift off I heard Ranger say "I love you Babe."

"I love you too Ranger." He pulled me closer and we both fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Lost**_

_**Chapter 4**_

_**I still own nothing… So sad…. **__Thank you for all your lovely reviews! It is nice to see a lot of followers from RangeBabe reading this as well as some new readers. To all my RangeBabe fans I hope this story doesn't let you down. _

I woke up and Ranger was still asleep next to me. I was shocked normally this man was up before I could even think about rolling over, he did have a really rough day yesterday though, between coming back from being in the wind for 18 months and finding out that his grandmother died I'm sure he needed his rest. Crap I really have to pee but I know if I get up right now I will wake him up. "It's okay Babe I'm awake go to the bathroom." He kissed my temple.

"How long have you been awake?" How does he do that? Just lay there like he is asleep.

"I've been awake for like an hour. It just relaxes me to watch you sleep. Go to the bathroom I'm going to go to the gym." Oh no he doesn't he will not lock himself in the gym again.

"Nope take a day off. I'll call Ella after I go to the bathroom and we can have breakfast together." He started to say something but I cut him off as I walked to the bathroom.

I did my business and called Ella to bring us up breakfast. I was surprised to see that Ranger was still in bed where I left him. "Wow you didn't even move I'm impressed." I said to him as I walked over to his bed. He grabbed my arm and pulled me into bed with him so that I was laying with my head on his shoulder and my arm across his chest.

"I meant what I said last night Babe." Has no idea how long I have waited to hear him say those words without qualifiers. "I'm not leaving again." Oh that part. "You can't get rid of me this time." I couldn't get rid of him when he was in the wind. He started playing with my hand. He seemed nervous. What the hell Ranger doesn't do nervous. "Babe seeing you again was the only thing keeping me going while I was in the wind. I knew you would never forgive me if I didn't come home in one piece. Babe I want someday."

"Okay. You are right I would have never forgiven you if you didn't come back in one piece you are my best friend. What do you mean you want someday?" He squeezed my side and kissed my temple.

"I want a someday with you. I want to kiss you and not just in dark alleys. I want to take you out places and go on vacations with you. Someday I want to marry you and maybe start a family. I don't know how to do any of that Babe. I just know I want it all. I don't want to have to share you anymore I just want you to be mine. Babe I am so lost right now." As he was talking he spoke faster and I could hear the panic rising in his voice. I wiggled out of his arms, straddled his waist and, put my hands on his cheeks.

"Ranger! Please calm down. I am not going anywhere. I love you and I want all those things too. Right now all those things need to be on hold you have a lot you need to deal with. I promise you that we will figure this out together." He seemed to turn back into his normal self. I whispered to him. "I love you and I need you to be okay I will do anything I can to get you through this but I need you to remember I will not run away this time so just talk to me okay."

"Thank you Babe. I love you too. I don't know if I could get through this without you. I will try to remember to talk to you and not push you away." He pulled me down so that my head was resting on his chest and we fell back to sleep for a little while.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Lost**_

_**Chapter 5**_

_**I need to find a way to own this one day! T**__**hank you for all the reviews!**_

I felt Ranger rubbing my back as I woke up. "Good Morning again Babe, I love you." He whispered into my hair.

"Good morning Ranger, I love you too." I kissed his chest. "Are you feeling better than you were earlier?" He sighed loudly. Who was this man and what did he do to my Ranger? Hmm… My Ranger, I like the sound of that!

"I feel better about us. I'm sorry I panicked like that before. I just can't lose someone else in my life Babe."

"I am not going anywhere. You are stuck with me. That's not what I meant though. Are you feeling better than you were last night?"

"Not really but I am not as angry as I was last night though. Thank you for not letting me stay down in the gym last night. If you didn't come here I probably would still be in the gym beating the shit out of that bag." He rolled us to our sides. Just then the beast let itself be known with a loud growl. "Babe why don't we go see what Ella left us to eat. Your stomach is scaring me." We both laughed and got out of bed.

Oh my God Ella is a Goddess! She made so much food for the two of us. Of course Ranger tried to only eat the healthy stuff until I stuffed half of a Boston crème doughnut in his mouth. At first he looked a little mad but then he started laughing. What really surprised me was when he took a whole doughnut for himself. "Wow Ranger the temple is going to hell today." We both chuckled a little bit.

"The temple is on vacation for the next few days. Spanish food is full of fat and grease Babe." I stared at him in shock. "Speaking of Spanish food, will you come to my parents with me today? I'm going to need to moral support."

"I don't know Ranger I don't want to intrude. I don't know your family at all and this is a really personal time." I don't know if meeting his family at a time like this is the best idea.

"Please Babe. They having been wanting to meet you for years and I am going to need you." He pulled me onto his lap and kissed my cheek.

"Well when you put it that way how can I say no? I hate that you are hurting so much right now. We finally got our crap together which makes me so happy but seeing you so sad is killing me."

"That's how I felt anytime something bad happened to you. I have been in love with you for a long time Babe. I was afraid to be with you before I finished out my contract. I didn't want us to be together if there was a chance that I wouldn't make it back. I couldn't put you though that." I put my hands on his cheeks and softly kissed him.

"It wouldn't have mattered if we were together or not and you didn't come home. I would have been completely devastated just the same. I love you I have for a long time. Just because we weren't together didn't change home much I love you." I started crying. He squeezed me and kissed the top of my head.

"Shh, Babe its okay I'm right here. I'm sorry I upset you." Once I calmed down we sat in silence for a while. "Are you okay now?"

"Yeah I'm sorry I freaked out. It's just the idea of losing you makes me really sad. Wow its noon already I have to start getting ready if you want me to go meet your family today. Oh my God what am I going to wear? I need your family to like me. Oh my God what if they don't like me?" I could feel myself panicking more and more and I couldn't stop. "What if they are mad because I don't speak Spanish? Or what if I say something stupid? Oh my God I can't go I'm going to look like an idiot." I was hyperventilating. Ranger started chuckling at me. "What's so funny?"

"You are crazy. My family is going to love you. You have been the only detail of my life they have heard about for years. I don't talk to them about my job or the guys only you. Go take a shower and then we will stop by your apartment so you can get dressed and finish getting ready." He kissed me lightly and helped me up. "I love you Babe."

"I love you too." I said as I walked to the bathroom. Ranger has the best shower known to man. As much as I wanted to take a long shower I knew that today was not the day to be doing that. So I rushed through my shower and put my pajamas back on. When I got out of the shower Ranger was sitting in the kitchen dressed and showered. "Do I have any clothes here still?"

"Yeah I'm pretty sure Ella shops for you regularly since the slayer incident. Go see if there is anything you want to wear." I walked to his closet and was shocked. Half of the damn closet was filled with my clothes. And I loved all of them! I quickly picked out a midnight blue cashmere sweater dress with black leggings and black knee high boots. I walked back out to the kitchen and Ranger came up to me and wrapped his arms around me. "You look beautiful Babe."

"Thank you. Did you realize Ella has a shopping problem? I take up half of your closet."

"I know I like it that way. It feels like you are always here." He kissed my cheek.

"When did your filter go away?" He lifted an eyebrow at me. "I'm not complaining. I just don't want it to come back I like that you tell me how you feel."

"I'm trying Babe. I can't promise that I will always be like this but I will try. If you feel like I am holding out on you just tell me. It's hard for me to open up I've had to keep everything to myself for a long time." I shook my head at him.

"You never had to hold anything back from me Ranger. It's okay though we are starting fresh." I tiptoed and kissed him.

"Well we better get going. As much as I would like to put this off I need to be there." We went down to the car and left to go to his parents.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Lost**_

_**Chapter 6**_

_**Thank you for all your lovely reviews they make me so happy(so please leave more of them)! Sadly I still own nothing!**_

__I was nervous the whole ride to Ranger's parent's house. At one point Ranger had to pull over because I was bouncing so much the car was shaking. "Babe you need to calm down you're going to give yourself a heart attack. They are only my parents and they will be happy you are there."

"I can't help it I feel like I am intruding."

"Babe you are not intruding. I need you there for me. I won't get through this without you." Oh now he is going to try to butter me up.

"I know you do that is why I am in the car right now. I'm just not good with parents. Dickie's parents hated me with a passion. Joe's mother thinks I'm a black hole of crazy. My own mother thinks I'm a joke."

"Babe my parents aren't from the Burg they don't expect the same things. To be honest they have been waiting for me to bring you over for a long time. They want to meet you."

"They _want _to meet me? What do you mean they _want _to meet me? How much did you tell them about me?"

"I told them enough for them to know that you are perfect for me and that I could care less if they like you or not. I also told them that Julie loves you and asks about you every time I talk to her. I think that's what won them over. They think because of you I have started to build a relationship with my daughter. To be honest with you I can't say they are wrong if it hadn't been for you I might not have a daughter anymore."

"Speaking of Julie does she know you are back? We talked once a month the whole time you were gone. She is really worried about you." I decided to not think about the Scrogg incident it almost ruined my life.

"I spoke to her right before I went to the gym last night she will be here this afternoon at 5 o'clock." This got me really excited.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted to surprise you. She told me not to tell you unless you asked. You talked to her every month?" Why did he sound so surprised by this?

"Of course I did. And that was just on the phone we e-mail back and forth all the time." He started driving again.

"What does she tell you in those e-mails?" I think he was afraid to get the answer.

"She tells me about what's going on in her life; school, friends, horseback riding, and boys. She is a good kid you should be really proud of her. I was actually thinking of surprising her at the end of next month she has a horse show that she is competing in and I already talked to Rachel about going I just needed to buy the plane ticket. Maybe now that you are home we can both go and surprise her together." He smiled a little bit.

"I would like that a lot Babe. And what do you mean she talks to you about boys? She is 15 years old she is way too young to be dating anyone." I looked at his hands on the steering wheel and his knuckles were white.

"Calm down Ranger. She isn't dating anyone right now but she does like this one boy. And for the love of God Ranger are you going to tell me you didn't have a girlfriend in 9th grade?"

"Well yeah I guess I did but this is my little girl we are talking about here." He said as we pulled into the driveway of a large one family house.

"I know we are Ranger but you need to remember she is a smart girl and that she is growing up. Like it or not she is going to date and more likely than not get her heart broken once or twice. You just have to be there for her when she does. She also said she wants to come up for a couple of weeks during the summer while she is on vacation. Obviously I told her she had to run it by you first. I think it would be nice." I leaned over in my seat and kissed him.

"That would be nice Babe. We will talk about it more tonight when we all go back to Trenton. You are going to stay over again right?" I nodded my head. "Okay good it will be nice having all three of us under one roof. Well this is my parents' house." He said pointing to the house in front of us. "Let's go in before they come out here. You might as well be warm for the Spanish inquisition." I must have looked horrified because he laughed at me. "I'm kidding come one Babe lets go in. This is not going to be a fun afternoon and I just want to get it over with." With that he get out of the car, came over to my door, helped me out of the car, and we walked up the walk to the door.

Before he could get his hand to the door knob someone threw the door open. "Oh Carlos I am so glad you are here." The woman said as she hugged him and kissed his cheek. "Your Abuela was always so proud of the man you have become." I heard him take a deep breath like he was composing himself.

"Hola Mama, I'm sorry I wasn't here to say good bye to Abuela."

"Don't you dare be sorry that you weren't here I know you were on a mission. Lester called me after you and I talked and told me you were having a hard time. Are you okay now?" She looked at his hands and saw the bandages. "What did you do to yourself?"

"Mama don't worry about it I'm okay now. I kind of lost my mind for a little while after we talked last night." He said sounding like he just got scolded.

"And did you find it Carlos?" She sounded very worried about her son.

"No Mama I didn't. Stephanie did." He said as he stood behind me with his arms wrapped around my waist. I on the other hand was doing my best impression of a fish. Did I really find his mind for him or was he just trying to find a way to introduce me to his mother? His mother finally noticed me. Her eyes were wide and she had a huge smile on her face.

"This is her? The Stephanie you are always calling your Babe?" She asked him while still looking at me. I could feel Ranger nod his head behind me. "Oh my God Stephanie I am so happy to finally meet you." She said pulling me out of Rangers arms and hugging me.

"It is very nice to meet you too Mrs. Manoso."

"Please call me Maria. Mrs. Manoso was my mother in-law."

"I am very sorry for your family's loss." I said to her. "And to be honest I'm not fully sure I am the one who found his mind I just think I made him find it himself."

"Well whatever happened I am glad you were there for my son. Please come inside the rest of the family will be delighted to meet you." She took my hand and ushered me in the door. I guess I was going to meet the whole Manoso family at one time.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Lost**_

_**Chapter 7**_

_**Thank you all my loves for following and reviewing my story! I would love to own the characters but sadly that is still a pipe dream!**_

__We walked in the door and I paused in the door way. Holy crap Ranger's family is huge!

"Babe they won't bite. My mom doesn't allow that kind of thing in the house."

"Holy crap Ranger how many people do you have in your family?" I whispered to him. He took my hand and laced his fingers through mine.

"Mama I will introduce Stephanie to everyone in a minute. I need to talk to her for a few minutes." She nodded and he led me away from the crowd. "I'm sorry Babe I didn't realize everyone would be here." He sat on a chair. "Come sit with me, I'll tell you about my family." I sat down in his lap. "I have three sisters and one brother, I am the youngest. My brother Marco is the oldest then there is Celia, Mina, Jasmine, and Veronica."

"Wow, you guys make my family look microscopic." I said snuggling into him. "How many nieces and nephews do you have? There were like 20 kids out there." He kissed the top of my head.

"Well Marco has four Michael, Lisa, Jenna, and Lily. Celia has five Nina, Mikayla, John, Noah, and Lucas. Mina has two sets of twins Roslyn, Maya, Jacob, and Mason. Jasmine has two sets of twins and two more, Lina, Martina, Lenora, Alexia, Mateo, and Nikko. Veronica has two and one on the way Gia, and Suzie."

"Wow Christmas shopping must be horrible."

"Gift cards Babe."

"Oh yeah I guess that makes sense. So, what about everyone's spouses?" He sighed.

"Marco's wife's name is Amelia. Celia's husband's name is Joshua. Mina's husband's name is Mathew. Jasmine's husband's name is Marcus. Veronica's Husband's name is Todd."

"Thank you." I whispered to him. "Now at least I know everyone's names. I don't feel so out of place anymore."

"You're welcome Babe. Let's go meet everyone and get things planned out so we can go get Julie and go home." I nodded my head and we went to meet the family. "I love you." He whispered in my ear.

We walked into the living room and were immediately bombarded by people. "Babe this is my sister Celia." He said as he introduced me to a beautiful tall woman.

"Hi _Babe _it's nice to meet you. We have been waiting for a long time." Celia said as she hugged me tightly laughing a little at her ribbing of Ranger.

"Hi I'm Stephanie it's nice to meet you too. I'm sorry for your loss." She took my hand and walked away with me. Ranger tried to follow but I shook my head telling him to stay where he was.

"Thanks. I'm really glad Carlos brought you with him." She said once we were away from the group. "He has been telling us about you since he first met you. No one thought it would take this long for him to finally bring you around. How is he doing with all this?" I was really hoping she would not ask this question.

"He is a mess. Last night Tank called me at two in the morning to drag him out of the gym because he wouldn't let any of the guys in there. By the time I got there he completely tore his hands up. I love him and I'm glad he let me in but I'm scared for him. I feel like I am helping but I don't know how much I can really help." I confessed to her.

"Believe me you are helping him more than you know. Honestly I don't think there is anyone who can help him more than you. Just please don't let him push or scare you away."

"That will never happen. He's stuck with me now." She let out a small chuckle.

"Okay good lets go introduce you to the rest of the family." We walked back to everyone.

The whole family was great. It was kind of weird that they all knew so much about me. Everyone seemed to accept me which made me feel like I was already part of the family. Despite the truly sad reason we were all there everyone seemed to be in high spirits. The plans were quickly made and then we ate some of the most amazing food I have ever tasted in my life. Shortly after we Ate we had to leave to go to the airport to pick up Julie.

_**Sorry this chapter was so lame… I really wasn't sure how to write it. **_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Lost**_

_**Chapter 8**_

_**Thank you for all your loving reviews of my last chapter I am glad you all liked it! Also… Does anyone know how I get the rights to these characters?**_

We were on our way to the airport and I swear you could feel the excitement in the car. Seeing Julie would be great for Ranger. Between just getting back for a mission and his Grandmother dying I think he needed to see Julie. I couldn't wait to see her to be honest it feels like she is part of my family. Apparently I was not aware of my surroundings yet again because all of a sudden Ranger kissed my cheek. "Babe we're here! Her flight should be landing any minute."

"Excited much? It's nice to see you like this. Normally you're very level." He got out of the car and came to my side and helped me out. When I got out of the car I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. "I love you. Now let's go get your girl!"

"I love you too." He said to me as he took my hand and led me through the airport. "What were you and Celia talking about?" He asked me while we were waiting.

"She just wanted to make sure that you are okay."

"What did you tell her?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I told her you will be. She was really worried about you."

"She always has been." The board changed saying Julie's flight had landed and was now at the gate for the passengers to get off. "Let's go get _our_ girl." He said getting up holding my hand. We walked to the gait and waited for Julie.

"Dad! Stephanie! You're here!" Julie yelled running to Ranger. He picked her up and hugged her like she was a little girl. "Dad I'm so sorry about Abuela Rosa." She hugged him so tightly I thought his head might pop off. I saw the single tear run down his face. I kissed his cheek and wiped it away so Julie wouldn't see it. When she decided that she paid enough attention to Ranger she ran up to me and gave me a hug. "Stephanie I am so glad you came to pick me up. Are you going to have dinner with us too?" Oh boy this was about to take a turn that I have no clue how to deal with.

"Yeah I'm going to have dinner with you tonight." I told her as we started walking to the car.

"Actually Jules Steph is going to stay with us while you are up here." Ranger told her cautiously.

"Oh my God! Does this mean you guys are actually dating now?" Julie asked us excitedly.

"Yes hija we are dating now." He told her as she squealed.

"When did that happen?"

"Last night. Steph came to check in on me after Tank called her." Wow talk about rewriting history.

"Well Stephanie, I am very happy you and my dad are finally together. The two of you will be much happier now."

"Jeeze kid when did you get so smart?" I asked her.

"I have some other good news for you too but you are going to have to wait until we get home."

"Oh come on just tell me!"

"I can't I have to show you." He told her.

"Fine Dad." She said to him rolling her eyes like a Jersey girl.

We got in the car and drove to Haywood in silence. Apparently Julie took after Ranger with the whole driving zone thing.

When we got to RangeMan and went upstairs it was clear the Ella had out done herself. There was a ton of food and none of it looked healthy. She even made brownies and pineapple upside-down cake. "Wow Ranger did you tell Ella to go to town or something?"

"I told her I need comfort food. I didn't realize she would make all my favorites."

"Whoa, this is all your favorites? Since when do you like food that has fat in it?"

"Steph, you should see him eat in Miami. We go out for burgers and stuff like that all the time." Julie chimed in.

"Oh so you are a closet junk food junkie?"

"No I'm not. I just like to let loose sometimes when I am around my daughter." He said coming up behind me.

"Oh and that doughnut you ate this morning?"

"You are a bad influence Babe."

"You got him to eat a doughnut? Wow Dad you got It bad." Julie said teasing him.

We sat down and ate dinner. It was very quiet as we all dug in to eat. Well at least it was until I tried the flan. "Oh my God! Ella is a goddess. This is one of the most amazing things I have ever eaten."

"Better than pineapple upside-down cake?"

"Better than Pinos, pineapple upside down cake, and Boston crème doughnuts." I said in between bites.

"Wow Babe, I didn't know anything could ever taste that good to you."

"Neither did I. I'm in shock."

After dinner we sat down in the living room and watched a movie. Honestly I'm pretty sure I only watched about five minutes of it because the next thing I remembered was Ranger picking me up and carrying me to bed.

"I can walk. You don't have to carry me."

"I know Babe but I like holding you so deal with it." We got to the bedroom and he placed me lightly on the bed. "I'm going to grab a shower before bed. Do you want to join me?"

"Julie is right down the hall." I whispered at him.

"She went to bed over an hour ago. I just wanted to hold you for a while after the movie ended." Then he kissed me. I'm pretty sure the kiss may have melted me. "So about that shower Babe?" I just nodded my head because I wasn't sure I could form words. He took my hand and led me to the bathroom.

_**To smut or not to smut that is the question. To be honest with all of you I'm not even sure I can write smut but I will try and all of you will have to wait til next time!**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Lost**_

_**Chapter 9**_

_**Thank you for all your reviews… Now I am ripping my hair out thinking about how to write smut. So sorry to disappoint but there will be no smut because I can't write it without sounding stupid. **_

__We had an amazing shower and by amazing I mean toe curling blacking out amazingness. When we were both finally spent Ranger pulled me to him and leaned against the wall. "Wow Babe."

I just nodded because I wasn't sure I could actually form words at the moment. "We should go to bed. It's been a long two days." I said when I finally could make words. Ranger turned off the shower and handed me a towel. We dried off and headed to bed. We both knew what the morning held and I knew it would be tough on him. I was just about to drift off when I heard a weird noise come from Ranger. I rolled over to look at him and I saw he was crying. I wrapped myself around him. "Shhh it's going to be okay." I know it was not what he wanted to hear but it was the only thing I could think of.

"She never got to meet you. The only thing she ever wanted from me was to meet the woman who for the last five years has made me happier than anyone else. How could I have been so arrogant to believe that I could take my time?" Crap where do I go from here? I have a grieving rambling emotional Ranger this is so not good. "She practically raised me Babe. I feel like I let her down."

"I don't think you let her down. Look at us right now. We are laying in the same bed talking to each other without any sort of filter. I think she would be happy to know that she is the one who finally brought us together." I kissed him lightly. "You need to remember that we have both loved each other for a long time and I know why you couldn't be like this with me before. For tonight you need to try to relax and get some sleep, the next two days are going to be mentally stressful." He pulled me to him and kissed me.

"I love you Babe. I don't know what I would do without you here. I don't know what I am going to do when you have to go back home."

"We will figure that out when we need to. For right now I'm staying here. I don't think I could go home right now even if you asked me to." I kissed him. "Now seriously we need to go to sleep. So please relax and go to sleep." As we were getting settled there was a knock on the bedroom door. I got out of bed and opened it. Julie was standing at the door with tears running down her face.

"I know I am 15 years old but can I sleep in here? I'll lay on the floor." She asked me.

"That's fine Julie." I said as I hugged her. "Ranger, why don't you get Julie's mattress so that she doesn't have to sleep on the floor."

"I'll be right back ladies." About 15 seconds later he was walking into the room with Julie's mattress on his back. After he put it down he walked up to her and hugged her. "I love you Hija. Don't let anyone ever tell you different. I promise you I will be around more. It may not seem like it but I did what I did to make sure you had a good life. I'm sorry you didn't get to know your great grandmother better."

"I love you too dad. I know you did what was best for me but I just wish you were around more." The two of them sat down on Rangers bed. "Just so you know Abeula and I would talk all the time. She would even come visit me when she was in Miami. She would tell me stories about when you were a kid." I think Ranger paled a little bit.

"Julie Elizabeth Martine if you ever do any of those things she told you about I will make sure you are grounded until you are 30." Julie laughed at him.

"Mom has already told me if I pull any of the crap you did I would be sent to military school. Believe me I don't want to go there so I will be on my best behavior. My point is that I had a really great relationship with Abeula. I am going to miss her a lot." Ranger hugged her tight.

"Me too Hija, me too." I saw the tears running down both their faces. I took this as my cue to leave. As I walked by them Ranger grabbed my arm and kissed me. "Thank you Babe." I walked out to the living room and let them have some time together.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Lost**_

_**Chapter 10**_

_**Thank you for all your reviews! I am so sorry I fell off the face of the earth for a while. **_

__I sat on the couch for a while before Ranger came out and sat next to me. "You didn't need to come out here."

"Yes I did Ranger you needed time alone with your daughter. I plan on staying here until you tell me you want me to leave but I will not take away from the time you get to spend with Julie while she is here. The two of you need to grieve and it is okay that I am not part of that. Take some time to be her father you two don't get a lot of time together." He pulled me close to him and kissed my temple.

"Thank you Babe. Lets go to bed now. We do need to talk though, but it can wait until the morning." Well that was convincing.

"Is everything with us okay?"

"Yeah everything is okay I just want to talk to you about something but it is going to take a while so I think we should wait until the morning."

"Okay let's go to bed then." He took my hand and walked with me to the bedroom. We got into bed and snuggled close together. "Goodnight Ranger, I love you."

"Goodnight Babe I love you too." He said to me as he kissed me softly. After a few minutes I heard Ranger's breathing level out and I knew he was asleep so I let myself sleep too.

I woke up in the morning and Ranger was gone. I sat up quickly and saw that Julie was reading on her mattress on the floor. "Dad went to the gym he said he would be back an hour ago."

"Oh son of a bitch!" I yelled as I jumped out of bed and scrambled to the bathroom. After I came out dressed and hair almost acceptable Julie jumped out in front of me.

"Do you want me to go get him?" She asked me.

"No I want you to stay up here and called Ella to bring up breakfast and then call Bobby and tell him to bring up his bag. Your father is not handling losing your grandmother well and last time he was in the gym he beat his hands up pretty bad. Everything will be okay I just want to be ready in case his hands are beat up again."

"Wow I didn't know he was taking it that badly. Okay you go get him and I will take care of the rest. Do you mind if I leave my mattress in the bedroom again tonight?"

"Of course you can leave it in there. I will be back soon." I ran out of the apartment and down the stairs to the third floor and into the gym. It was empty except for Ranger. I could hear him in the back beating the shit out of one of the punching bags again. Son of a bitch! Why can't he just handle this like a normal person and cry? I walked to the back of the gym to stop him from hurting himself.

"Ranger, you need to stop doing this." What a surprise no response, so I tried yelling. "Ranger please stop doing this to yourself." Still no response, time to fall back on what worked last time. "Carlos please stop." I yelled. "You need to stop hurting yourself. This isn't helping you." He stopped hitting the bag and sat on the floor with his elbows on his knees and his palms on his forehead. I sat down next to him and started to cry.

"Why are you crying Babe?" He asked wrapping me in his arms.

"I hate seeing you like this. I don't know how to help you. I love you so much and watching you hurting is hurting me. And this crap with the punching bag has to fucking stop." I was starting to get angry and I couldn't stop it. I pushed out of his arms got up and started pacing. "You are covered in your own blood and all I can think about is seeing you after Scrogg shot you with your blood all over you. Don't you get it? You are everything to me I love you more than I have loved anyone. Your daughter is here mourning the same person you are maybe you should mourn with her and not down here beating the shit out of your hands. You don't have to be fucking batman all the damn time." I turned to walk out of the gym because I just couldn't be down there any longer. Ranger came up behind me and grabbed me.

"I don't know what else to do Babe! This is how I deal with things." He yelled in my face.

"You are not on a mission Ranger! This is your family and me! This is not how you deal with us!" I yelled but I was starting to lose steam. "We love you and we are all worried about you. I know how much your grandmother meant to you and how much you looked up to her. But honestly would she want you to do this to yourself?" I said to him as I put my hand on his cheek. "I love you Ranger but I can't watch you do this to yourself so please stop." I wiped a tear that started to fall down his face and he pulled me to him and held me tight.

"I love you Babe and I am sorry if I hurt you by acting like this. I just don't know what else to do." He said to the top of my head.

"I love you too Ranger. You have to start talking instead of doing things like this. It is oaky to cry no one is going to think less of you especially me. I can't deal with seeing you covered in blood. Like I said before it takes me back to the Scrogg incident all over again and I get scared. So please just try talking to me." He squeezed me and kissed the top of my head. "Why don't you shower off before we go upstairs. I'm sure you don't want Julie to see you covered in blood."

"In that case you might want to shower too because I got blood on you. Join me?"


	11. Chapter 11

_**Lost**_

_**Chapter 11**_

_**Thank you for all your reviews. Sorry no smut again… It just sounds stupid if I write it! **_

__Ranger and I took a very long earth shattering shower. I could get use to showering with him every day. I reached for the shampoo but he grabbed it from me and started to wash my hair. It was heavenly. "Are you going to do this every time we fight? Because if you are I might try to fight with you more often."

"Or we could just shower together every morning Babe." He suggested.

"Are you going to drive to my apartment every morning to get me out of bed to shower with me?" I asked him trying to be a wise ass.

"Well actually I was more thinking you could wake up here every morning." Oh was that all. Wait back the truck up! Did he just say he wants me to wake up here every morning? Like move in with him wake up here every morning? "Yeah Babe like you move in here."

"Out loud?" I asked him still stunned. I really need to learn how to use my internal voice.

"Yeah Babe all of that was out loud. I am serious though will you move in with me?" He stopped moving his hands through my hair while waiting for my answer.

"You are sure you really want me to move in with you?" This was still not quite computing in my head.

"Yes Babe I really want you to move in here with me. I love you and I want you to be the first person I see when I wake up in the morning and the last person I see when I go to bed at night. Stephanie please move in here with me. After the past two nights with you here and knowing I will never be called away again I can't imagine having to sleep without you again."

"Yes I will move in here but I don't want to get rid of my apartment right away. Maybe it could be our place to get away from here when you don't have to work in the morning? At least until my lease is over in six months and then I will be done with it." He started scrubbing my scalp again.

"I think that is a great idea. Maybe after your lease is up we can look somewhere else for a getaway home? Rinse you hair so I can put the conditioner in it."

"You are really all in now aren't you?" I asked him as I rinsed my hair.

"Yes I am. Are you all in?" He asked as he ran the conditioner through my hair.

"I've been all in for a long time now Ranger I was just afraid to admit it." I turned around to face him. "I'm sorry I yelled at you in the gym. I was scared and I should have thought about what I was saying."

"Babe I should be the one apologizing. I should have never grabbed you like that." He picked up the wrist he grabbed and looked at it then dropped it. I could see a dark look come over his eyes. I looked at my wrist and it was a little red but nothing that would stay like that and to be honest I could barely notice it. I looked at Ranger and he looked even more broken. The tears were starting to pour down his face. I wrapped my arms around his neck but he seemed pretty inconsolable. "I knew I would hurt you that is why I have stayed so distant for so long. I can't do this Babe." Oh hell no, this is not fucking happening right now; he is not going to do this shit.

"Carlos we are not doing this." I skipped the whole Ranger thing because it has gotten me nowhere the past three days. "You didn't hurt me when you grabbed me. It hurts me seeing you like this and I hate when you shut me out." He finally wrapped his arms around me and held me like he was afraid I would run away.

"I am so sorry Babe. I am so, so sorry. I love you please don't leave." He was whispered as he was kissing me. I could hear the tears in his voice.

"I love you too. Shhhh, I'm not going anywhere. It's okay I promise you didn't hurt me." I said as I was rubbing his shoulders. He was so tense. He really thought I was going to leave. Eventually his tension melted away and he kissed my cheek.

"Thank you Babe."

"Feel better?"

"Surprisingly yes I do feel better. Lets go upstairs both of us look like prunes." I looked down at our hands wow we look like Grandma Mazur. "Babe NEVER say that again. I just don't want to picture that!"

"Eww I said that out loud didn't I?" He started laughing and not just a little laugh it was a full blown chest rattling laugh.

"Yeah Babe you said that out loud and it was not something I wanted to picture!" With that we got dressed and headed up stairs.


	12. Chapter 12

**_Lost_**

**Chapter 12**

**_Thank you for all the reviews! _**

****The next few days flew by. We were on our way to bring Julie to the airport because it was time for her to go home. "So dad I have been meaning to ask you if I could maybe come stay up here for a week or two over the summer. Would that be okay with you?" I saw the small smile pull on Rangers lips.

"I would love that hija. I will talk to your mother about it."

"I understand if you have to cancel dad I know when you go on missions you don't always know beforehand." She sounded almost sincere. I thought Ranger would have told her that he is done with those.

"That won't be a problem anymore. I am no longer working for the government. There will be no more missions." Julie squealed at the news.

"Oh my God really dad? No more missions? Does that mean that maybe we can talk to mom about me coming up here more?" Rangers smile got bigger with Julies excitement.

"If that is what you want then yes I will talk to her more and see if she approves." The two of them continued talking while we drove. As soon as we reached the airport I could see that both of them were not ready to say good bye. Maybe after Julie got on her plane I would have a talk with Ranger about going down to Miami. The two of them really need some time together. "Babe are you okay? You haven't said anything the whole ride down here." He put his arm on the small of my back as we were walking through the airport.

"Yeah I'm okay I just wanted to give the two of you some time to talk. I know that you want to spend more time together." Julie hugged me.

"Thanks Steph. I want you to come down to Miami next time dad does. That way you can meet all my friends. I don't think they believe you exist."

"Why would they not believe I existed?" Ranger laughed at me.

"Babe if I didn't know you I wouldn't believe you exist either. Some of the things you get into are pretty unimaginable." I stuck my tongue out at both of them.

"Sorry Steph but it is true. The craziest things happen to you." I couldn't really argue with them. All too soon Julie's flight number was called. She ran up and hugged me. "I love you Steph and I am glad you are really part of the family now. Maybe soon you will be my actual step-mom. I'll talk to dad about it." I started to tear up so I squeezed her tighter.

"I love you too Julie. Have a safe flight call us when you get home. I would love to be your step-mom but don't push your dad too hard on it." She laughed and ran to Ranger to say goodbye to him. We watched her board her flight and then waited for her plane to leave before either one of us said anything.

"Babe this sucks. All I want to do is get on the next flight and go to Miami and spend more time with her." Ranger said to me as we walked back to the car. I stopped and turned so I was facing him.

"Well lets go see when the next flight with two available seats is and go."

"You would do that for me?" He asked hugging me.

"No I would do that for the three of us. It's clear that Julie wants to spend more time with you and now that I am moving in with you she would be spending more time with me too. I don't see why we can't go visit her from time to time. Plus I would like more time with you and Julie before you have to go back to work again." He kissed lightly.

"I love you Babe. Can you get time off work?" Oh yeah Ranger and I haven't discussed my job at all since he has been back. "I know you haven't gone to the bonds office since I have been back and I am sure Vinny is going to have a stroke if I tell him you won't be back for another week." Oh this is going to be great.

"Well the thing is I don't work for Vinny anymore. While you were gone I had a skip that I never should have been given and I got hurt pretty badly. I was in this hospital for two weeks. I finally decided that being a bounty hunter just wasn't okay anymore." He jumped in.

"What do you mean that you were in the hospital for two weeks? I am going to kill that little duck fucker!" Oh shit Ranger was going to freak out in the airport parking lot. I guess it is time to lay it all out for him. So I put my finger to him lips and hushed him.

"Calm down I am okay." He raised an eyebrow at me. "Anyway as I was trying to say. After I got out of the hospital a friend of mine offered me a great job that I absolutely love doing so I took it and quit the bonds office."

"So where are you working now? Is your new boss going to be okay with you taking even more time off?" He was still pretty concerned.

"I don't know boss man is it okay if I go to Miami for a week with my boyfriend to see his daughter?" I laughed as he just stared at me.

"It took me being in the wind and you getting seriously hurt to finally take me up on my job offer?" He smiled and wrapped his arms around me.

"Well it was more the grief from Tank, Lester, Bobby, and Joe, that got me to take the job." The smile left his face. "Wait just hear me out before you jump to conclusions. Joe pretty much told me that if got hurt like this while you were here it would have destroyed you to see me like I was." He raised his eyebrow. "It was really bad Ranger and I am glad that you weren't here to see me like that. They weren't sure I would make it through the first night. I had a really bad head injury. I really don't want to talk about the details. Lets just say the situation woke me up a little bit. But getting back to what I was saying. I knew what Joe was saying was true when Tank, Lester, and Bobby agreed with him. That was actually when Joe realized that it was for the better that he moved on. I actually felt bad for him because everyone thought he went nuts because he couldn't deal with my lifestyle and left me while I was hurt but it wasn't like that. So on my last day in the hospital Tank came to me and told me the offer still was there for me to work at RangeMan and I took him up on it." I tiptoed and kissed him. "I love you. Lets go get our tickets."

"I love you too Babe and I am glad you are working at RangeMan. Why don't we get tickets for the day after tomorrow so we can spend some time together before we go to Miami?"

"That sounds like a nice idea but if you want to go down tonight that it okay too. I'm not going to keep you away from her. You know that right?"

"I know Babe but I think we need some time to ourselves before we go. We need some time to talk about things and just be together. The day after tomorrow will be fine." We went back inside and got our tickets for Miami then got in the car to go home.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Lost**_

_**Chapter 13**_

_**T**__**hank you for all your reviews I love reading them!**_

__So I thought we were going home but we started heading to Philadelphia. "I thought we were going home." I said to Ranger.

"I have two words for you. Bat Cave." Holy shit.

"Oh my God there is really a Bat cave?" My mind has officially been blown.

"Well not really. It is a house I own that I don't really use unless I need to get away."

"Oh okay, I don't have any clothes." He smiled at me.

"I don't see the problem." Oh I love this man! He needs to stop smiling at me because if he doesn't he is going to have to pull over. "Babe I think we can wait. Why don't you go to sleep, I will wake you up when we get there."

"You and your ESP is killing me you know that right?"

"Babe take a nap it will be about an hour before we get there." I smiled then got myself comfortable and went to sleep. I woke up as Ranger was carrying me inside the door.

"I can walk." I mumbled at him as I tried to wiggle out of his arms.

"I know you can Babe but in the past week you have done so much for me and I just want to take care of you. Please just let me." I nuzzled into his chest and let him carry me to the bedroom. He put me down on the bed and laid down next to me. "Lets take a nap Babe. We have been really busy we have time so lets just rest."

"Okay." I said sleepily as I put my head on his chest and drifted off. I don't know how long we slept but when I felt Ranger get out of bed it was dark out. "Where are you going Carlos?" He stopped dead in his tracks, shit I just fucked everything up. I don't even know why I just called him Carlos. He crawled back into bed and kissed me like there was no tomorrow.

"I like when you call me Carlos Babe. Do you want to come take a shower with me? I was going to let you sleep." I kissed his cheek and smiled at him.

"A shower sounds good. What time is it?"

"Around 8:30 I can't believe I slept so much." He pulled me closer to him.

"This isn't taking a shower." He made a grumbling noise as he started to get up. "We don't have to shower. We can lay here and be lazy until the morning." He stopped moving.

"You mean to tell me that you aren't itching for the tour?" Oh yeah we are in the bat cave. I draped myself across his chest.

"How about we take a shower first and then you can give me the tour." He adjusted me so that I was straddling him and his hands were grabbing my thighs.

"I have an idea before we take a shower Babe." His hands slowly moved up my thighs. "I want to show you how grateful I am to you for taking care of me." His one hand stopped at my center while his other hand continued to move to my left nipple and he kissed me.

"I love you Carlos."

"I love you too Stephanie." It took us two hours before we got in the shower.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Lost**_

_**Chapter 14**_

Our shower was amazing. The shower in the Bat Cave was better than the one at RangeMan which I didn't think was possible. This was one of those showers with like 6 heads all over the walls. After our shower Ranger showed me around the house. It surprised me how personal it was. There were pictures everywhere. I was shocked to see there was a picture of Ranger and I outside the bonds office right next to the bed. "This house is beautiful. Why don't you spend more time here?" He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed the top of my head.

"You weren't here. Now it feels like a home having you here with me, but before it felt like I was in a foreign country all on my own." I put my head to his chest. "Why don't we go sit down in this living room, I want to talk to you about something." I nodded my head and he led me to the couch. We sat down and I cuddled against him.

"Okay what's going on in that head of yours?" I asked him. When he didn't answer me right away I looked at him. He looked nervous. "What's wrong? You look nervous, there are very few times I have ever seen you look nervous, and when you did really bad things were happening." He smiled at me.

"Nothing is wrong Babe; I just don't know how you are going to react to what I am going to say. So I guess I am a little nervous. Just let me get it all out before you say anything." I nodded my head and waited for him to start talking. "Okay never mind the waiting until I am done talking I have to ask you a question first. Are you on birth control?" Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! My fucking birth control! I haven't taken for a week! Shit, fuck, shit! I must have blacked out for a while because I came too laying on the floor with my feet up on the couch. Ranger was laying next to me rubbing my cheek. "I'll take that as you are supposed to be but you haven't taken it since the night I got back and you just realized we haven't used any condoms."

"Got it in one Batman. What are we going to do?" I was so afraid he was going to be mad at me I started crying.

"Shhh, Babe it will be okay please stop crying. You're not ready for this are you?" He sounded disappointed.

"Are you ready for us to have a baby?" I was still crying. He sighed and pulled me into his arms.

"Babe I don't know if I will ever be ready to have a baby." I started crying harder. "Hey, that's not what I meant." He whispered. "I don't know if anyone is ever ready to have a baby, they may want to have a baby but I think almost everyone is shocked when they actually find out that they are going to have one. I want to be surprised and excited with you and only you. So if you are pregnant that is great but if you aren't that is great too and we can wait a little longer." I could feel him smiling against my cheek. I stopped crying and looked at him.

"So what are you saying?" I asked him a little confused.

"I'm suggesting that we let nature take its course and if you happen to get pregnant then great! If that is what you want."

"You really want to have a baby? Like soon?" Holy shit! When he said he was all in he wasn't kidding.

"Yes I want to have a baby with you if that is what you want. It doesn't have to be soon but if it happens to be soon than that is great too."

"I love you so much and yes I want to have a baby with you." He pulled me so that I was laying across his chest and tucked a curl behind my ear.

"Well why don't we just see what happens. I don't want to rush this but Babe let's face it we aren't getting any younger." I started laughing uncontrollably.

"Oh my God, you sound like my mother." I said once I could semi control my laughter. He looked smug for a second and then started laughing with me. Eventually we both composed ourselves Ranger wrapped me in his arms again.

"So we aren't going to try to have a baby but we aren't trying to avoid having a baby either." I nodded my head and he kissed my nose. I was trying not to cry because I was so far beyond happy and I didn't want him to think I was upset. "Okay so I am going to suggest something but you can't freak out." I nodded my head again. "Will you marry me?" I think I am hallucinating Ranger just said he wants us to have a baby and now he was proposing. He sat us up and pulled a ring out of his pocket. It was amazing; white gold with a square cut diamond in the middle and two sapphires on each side.

"Are you serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be serious Babe?"

"Gee, I don't know; maybe because we have only been together for a week." He laughed a little.

"Do you want to marry me Babe?

"Yes."

"Do you want to get married while we are in Miami?"

"Yes I would love to get married in Miami. Are you sure about this though? We don't have to get married right away." I sat on his lap and kissed him. "Why are you so set on getting married when we go down to Miami?" He put his hand on my stomach and kissed my cheek.

"Call it old school or what have you I want to be married before we have a child." I laughed at him. "Why are you laughing at me?"

"I never thought I would hear you say anything like that ever! I'm not complaining by any means but it still just shocks me how much you are opening up now."

"So are you going to answer my question? Will you marry me Stephanie? I love you, I have since the day I met you." That set me over the edge and I started crying again. I nodded my head.

"Yes I will marry you Carlos. I love you and I can't imagine marrying and starting a family with anyone else."

_**So should there be a baby? But be warned if there is no baby both of our favorites will be going through hell (really dark and dismal hell the kind of hell you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy) **_


	15. Chapter 15

_**Lost**_

_**Chapter 15**_

_**Thank you for all your reviews my lovely readers! So the great baby vote is in full swing please keep telling me what you want. No baby? Yes baby? Two babies? Boys? Girls? Names? I want all of you to give me something… Please… The next chapter won't be up until I know what you all really want!**_

We spent the rest of the day just enjoying each other. I was great until my stomach started to protest. "Babe let's go out for dinner the beast is going crazy!"

"I need to put some clothes on first. Give me half an hour." He smiled at me and let me get up off the super comfortable couch.

"Take your time. There is a dress and shoes in the closet you should wear." I turned around and looked at him questioning.

"How long have you had this planned?" He stood up and wrapped his arms around me.

"A few days, I knew you were sad Julie was leaving and so was I. So I planned for us to take a few days and spend them here. When you suggested we go down to Miami I was in shock but really happy that you did. There for this isn't exactly what I had planned but it is so much better." I leaned up and kissed him then put my hand over his heart.

"Thank you. You have no idea how much it means to me that you are sharing so much of yourself with me." I looked down at my hand and smiled. "I still can't believe we are getting married while we are in Miami."

"Believe it Babe because you are stuck with me." My stomach all but screamed at us. He chuckled and kissed my cheek. "Get ready to go. Is Italian okay?"

"When isn't Italian okay?" I said to him as I headed down the hall to the bed room. I decided to take another shower because my hair was terrifying. Once I was out of the shower I did my hair and make-up. I decided on a light smoky eye with a shiny lip gloss and of course a few swipes of mascara because I didn't look at the dress yet and simple make-up goes with everything. Once I was all set I headed to the closet. The dress was spectacular. It was a midnight blue halter cut dress with a thick black sash at the waist. I put it on and I looked amazing. I also found a pair of black FMP's that finished off the look.

I walked out to the living room and Ranger immediately pulled me into his arms. "You look beautiful Babe."

"Thank you. This dress is perfect I love it." I kissed he cheek as we headed out the door. We drove for about 45 minutes before we got to the restaurant from the outside it looked like it was very nice. We walked in and I was in shock very nice didn't even begin to describe how it looked. Ranger walked up to the host and said.

"Carlos Manoso I have a reservation." The host looked down.

"Oh yes Mr. Manoso the back room is all set for you." I looked at him in question.

"You'll see Babe." Ranger answered. We walked to the back but before we walked in the door he stopped me. "I love you Babe and I can't wait to start our life together." He tucked a curl behind my ear then kissed me lightly and we walked into the room. To my surprise all of our friends and family were there.

"Wow how did you plan all of this?"

"Well to be honest I had some help from a few people." I saw Lula and Connie walking up to us.

"White girl I knew you would say yes." Holy shit Lula kept a secret.

"How did this not get to the Burg grapevine?" I asked Connie.

"It did but in case you didn't know you haven't been out in the Burg for a while." She laughed at me. Both Connie and Lula hugged me and went to sit down as my parents were coming up to us.

"Well it is about time you settled down with someone Stephanie. Why couldn't you just marry Joseph? You would have been starting a family by now." I stared at her for a second and decided I was not going to take her shit anymore.

"Get. Out. Now."

"Stephanie Michelle Plum you have been brought you up better than that. How dare you talk to your mother like that?" My father said to me.

"Get out now. If the two of you cannot be supportive of me I don't want you here. So I will say it one more time or I will have you removed, and I know I can because half of the people here are security experts. Get out, I don't want you here." They both turned beet red and walked out the door. I started shaking and then I cried. Ranger wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest.

"Babe I am so sorry. I thought you would want them here. I didn't think your mother would act like that. For Christ sake I asked them before I proposed to you. I thought they would be happy for you." He whispered in my ear. "We can leave if you want to. It is pretty clear right now that this was a bad idea." I composed myself the best I could.

"We can't leave, look at all the other people who are here that are actually happy for us. Thank you for doing all this I am sorry my parents made you feel like this was a bad idea. I love you." He kissed my temple.

"I love you too Babe. Why don't we go outside for a minute and cool down." I nodded and he led me out the door. We sat in the car for a about 15 minutes so that we could compose ourselves and then we went back in.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Lost**_

_**Chapter 16**_

_**Thank you for all your reviews I know what the outcome will be but I'm not telling yet you have a little while. I am pretty sure right now this story will have a sequel. **_

__The rest of the party was great! All of our friends were really happy for us. I started getting really tired by the end of the night. "Are you okay Babe? You don't look like you are feeling okay."

"I'm just tired. It feels really late, and I am still kind of disappointed about my parents."

"It's only 11 o'clock Babe. I know you are disappointed. We can wait to get married if you want. Maybe it will give them some time to wrap their heads around it." He put his arm around my shoulder.

"No, we can't do that. I want to be married to you and it isn't fair to us to put it off and hope they decide to become supportive. Can we go soon if we don't I'm going to fall asleep standing up. I don't know why I am so tired tonight."

"I want to be married to you too Babe but I know it is important to you that your family is there for you." He kissed the top on my head and I yawned. "Lets got say goodbye to everyone who is still here and then we can go home to the bat cave." I turned and smiled at him.

"Ha you called it the bat cave too!" He smiled at me.

"If you tell Lula I called it the bat cave I will deny it Babe." I laughed him.

"Just between us?" He pulled me closer to him and we sat in down in a chair. "Whats wrong?"

"What if we found a new bat cave closer to Trenton?" I smiled at him because I was about to blow his mind.

"What if we found a bat cave closer to Miami?" Yup I knew it his mind was completely blown. There was no smile, no blank face, no raised eyebrow just a stunned look on his face. "I'm serious. I want us to be closer to Julie. I love that girl and I know you would do anything in your power to see her more. Well this is in your power. We should move down there." Still no response. "Carlos, I know you feel like you have missed out on a lot of Julie's life and you have. If we move down there you won't miss anymore and our baby will know its older sister. And personally I think its time for a change of location. You are no longer a government employee you can have a life now. Please just say something."

"Damn it woman you never fail to surprise me. I love you so much Babe and I love that you would do this for me but is this what you really want? To move away from everyone you know? So that I can try to make up for lost time with my daughter?" Why is this man so damn dense?

"Yes this is what I really want! I want to be with you and I want you to be happy. I want to start a family with you but I also want our children to have a relationship with their big sister. I want Julie to see us all the time and to be part of her life too. Right before you got back she asked me if I thought you would ever spend more time down there and at the time I told her I don't know. Right now that is what we need to do we need to go down there and we need to seriously think about staying down there. I love that girl so much it hurts. She is amazing and I want to spend more time with her. Hell Rachel and Ron did the hard part all we have to do is help teacher her how to be an adult and she needs you." He cut me off.

"No she doesn't Babe. She has all the parents she needs, Ron and Rachel have done a great job with her and all I will do is mess it up." I kissed him on the lips.

"Shh don't say that. Even Rachel says she needs you. She knows that Ron will always be her dad but she also knows that you are her father and that you love her. Why don't we go say goodbye and we will talk about this more when we get home." He put his hands on my cheeks and smiled.

"Home, that sounds good." I kissed him lightly and stood up. He stood up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Have I ever how amazing you are?"

"I'm sure you have but it doesn't hurt to hear it more than once." We made our rounds saying goodbye to all our friends and thanking them for celebrating with us. It took us almost an hour to get to everyone. Finally we got to the car. I have been feeling weird all night but I didn't say anything. Now that we were at the car I was feeling very dizzy and I had a horrible headache.


	17. Chapter 17

_**Lost**_

_**Chapter 17**_

_**Thank you for the reviews everyone. I do not own anything except for the story line. **_

__I must have passed out again because I opened my eyes and we were outside the restaurant and I was laying across Ranger's lap with Bobby checking my pulse. "What happened?" I asked Ranger.

"I don't know Babe you were getting in the car and you passed out. I ran over to your side and you started shaking so I called Bobby." He brushed some of my hair out of my face. "You scared the shit out of me Babe." He squeezed me and turned to Bobby. "What the hell happened?"

"I don't know boss. We need to get her to a hospital. I don't think she had a seizure but I want to get some tests done." Oh no this was not going to happen.

"No hospitals! Bring me to RangeMan. We are going on vacation in the morning I don't want to spend tonight in the hospital." Ranger sighed. "Bobby, do you have the things you need to do theses test at RangeMan?"

"I do Bomber but the hospital is a lot closer I thought you would rather just go there and get it done."

"We will go to RangeMan then." I tried to sit up but got dizzy again. "Wow I'm really dizzy." Ranger looked pale.

"Babe the hospital is a lot closer than RangeMan please let us take you there. We aren't in Trenton." I nodded my head. "Thank you. I'm going to pick you up and bring you to Bobby's truck. Someone else will take the car." He lifted me up and ran to the truck and put me in the back seat then get in next to me. I thing Bobby broke every traffic law known to man getting me to the hospital as quickly as possible. When we got there Ranger scooped me up and ran into the building with me. Once I was in a room and on a bed I got even more dizzy and threw up all over the floor.

"Sorry." I said to Ranger. "It just happened I didn't have a warning."

"Don't worry Babe." He went into the hallway to get a nurse, or so I thought. He came back in dragging a doctor with him. "Babe this is Dr. O'Brian."

"Ms. Plum I have looked over your recent medical records and I would like to ask you a few questions." I nodded my head. "Have you hit your head recently?"

"I don't think so. If I did I don't remember." I told him.

"She passed out earlier today and hit on our floor." Ranger answered. "I didn't think she hit it hard though.

"Well Mr. Manoso after her last trauma any head injury could cause her to have problems." Shit I didn't know I hit my head when I passed out. I would have told Ranger I needed to get to the doctors right away. Last time I was in the hospital they told me any head injury could cause me to have a concussion. "I want to do a few tests. Ms. Plum you need to have a CT scan done right away. I will send someone in to bring you to radiology." The doctor left and Ranger sat next to me on my bed. He brushed some hair off my forehead.

"Babe what happened while I was gone?" He whispered as he leaned down to kiss my cheek.

"I went after Joe Mesa he was bonded out on $10,000,000 bail. He was arrested for raping eight girls who were all 14 and I knew I had to get him. At that point I didn't even care about the money I just knew I had to get him. Anyway I followed him to his apartment and I had just gotten to his window on the fire escape and he saw me. He dove out the window and knocked me off but he came with me and thank god he did because if I didn't land on him I would have died. The fall killed him and normally I would have felt bad for him dying but after the terrible things he did to those little girls I'm glad he can't hurt anyone."

"Babe you are amazing and I am so proud of you."


	18. Chapter 18

_**Lost**_

_**Chapter 18**_

He's proud of me for almost getting myself killed? I was stupid for even taking the damn file. I should have given it back to Connie when I saw the dollar amount. I don't even know how it wound up in my pile. "Why are you proud of me for doing something so stupid?"

"Babe he was a child molester yes you should have asked one of the guys for help but you stopped a dangerous man. I am so proud of how brave you were." He kissed my forehead. A nurse walked in to wheel me to have my CT Scan done. "Do you want me to come with you?" He asked me as he squeezed my hand.

"I'll be okay. Thank you for staying with me while I waited."

"Always Babe." He said as I was wheeled out. The scan was done quickly and I was brought back to the room to wait. Ranger sat on the bed and waited with me. About thirty minutes later the Doctor came back in.

"Miss Plum it looks like you have a severe concussion. You will need to rest for the next several days." I cut him off.

"I am supposed to be going to Miami in the morning. Will I be able to get on a plane?"

"Yes you will be able to fly down but I am going to prescribe you some valium to make sure you stay relaxed on the flight. This will help with headaches."

"So can I leave now then?"

"Yes Miss Plum you may go home now. But you are to be relaxing and keeping your blood pressure down for the next week." I do not like where this is going. "You should also limit any strenuous activity."

"Define strenuous activity. Can we have sex?"

"Yes as long as it is nothing too crazy. Why don't I go get you your discharge papers and you can go continue on with your life?" The doctor said as he walked out of the room. HE was back in about five minutes. Okay Miss Plum if you would sign here you can be on your way. If you feel worse please get yourself to the nearest hospital. I signed the papers and Ranger and I walked out of the hospital.

Ranger helped me get into the car and got in. "Babe why didn't you tell me about all of this before?"

"You had your own shit going on. I was going to tell you." I trailed off.

"I smell something burning what is going on in that head of yours?"

"We are getting married in a few days."

"Cold feet Babe?" He said with a smirk.

"Not in the slightest Batman. You?"

"No we are going to do this and it's going to be good."

_**Sorry for my lack of writing I have been uninspired and I will try my hardest to get back into it!**_


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